Kelly Taylor Bites!
by MrBillyD
Summary: Buffy/90210 crossover sequel to my "Bad Girls Do Get Eaten". After Kelly Taylor becomes a Vampire, Dylan and Brandon search for the Orb of Thessella, in hope of restoring her soul and bringing her back, as close as possible, to normal.
1. Chapter 1

Kelly Taylor Bites!

After Kelly Taylor becomes a Vampire, Dylan and Brandon search through the vampiric world, seeking ways to bring her back, as close as possible, to normal.

This is a sequel to my Beverly Hills 90210/Buffy crossover, "Bad Girls Do Get Eaten".

I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to the Producers of the TV Series "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer".

Kelly Taylor Bites!

1

Kelly Taylor was hungry. At 9:30 AM, she was seated at a table inside the otherwise deserted Beverly Hills nightclub, the Peachpit After/Dark. She sat in the dark silence, drinking red wine from a glass, trying not to scratch the vessel with her fangs, while wishing that the glass was filled with blood, of the human variety.

The blonde 20-year-old wore the modest blue dress she'd found herself in, when she woke up a little after midnight, in an open coffin inside a dark and deserted mortuary.

She'd lain there for a frighteningly long, amnesiac moment, trying to remember what she was doing in that place. Then she remembered.

She remembered late Thursday night, or maybe it happened early Friday morning. She'd been here at the After/Dark for a few hours. The Club had been busy. It was a good night for business, but the Manager; Valerie Malone wasn't there. No one had seen her since early Tuesday evening. There was nothing unusual about that. Valerie had a way of just vanishing for a few days, then returning without explanation.

"Whatever she's doing," Kelly's stepbrother David Silver said with a peeved tone, "it's better if we just don't know."

"Right." Kelly told him, "I don't think I want to know."

Kelly had left the Club around midnight, heading out across the parking lot to where her car was parked, with its front grill a few inches from the Club's brick wall.

She moved between her car's driver side and the vehicle on its left, reached in her handbag and took out her keys.

"Hey Kelly!"

A woman named Harmony had called out. She was also blonde and appeared to be around Kelly's age. She'd been showing up regularly at the After/Dark for about two weeks, accompanied by a guy named Spike, who spoke with a Cockney English accent. Spike had a mean look to him, so did Harmony. So far neither of them had caused any trouble.

She approached Kelly between both cars, blocking the woman between herself and the brick wall.

"Hi Harmony." Kelly asked, "How're you doing?"

"How I'm doing," she spoke with a peeved tone, "is that when it comes to guys, I really know how to pick 'em."

"You have that problem too, huh?"

"What I'm doing, is that I got into an argument with Spike. He just walked out and drove off, leaving me without a ride home."

"Welcome to Beverly Hills. I'll give you a ride home."

"Thank you Kelly."

"If you don't mind me asking, just what were you two arguing about?"

"Well," Harmony said, "You know that bimbo Valerie, who owns this place?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately. Since you're calling her a 'bimbo', I think I know what you're gonna tell me."

"Well, on Tuesday night, she and Spike were out here in this parking lot, doing it in the backseat of his car; like a couple of horny teenagers!"

Kelly nodded, "I figured that's what you we're gonna say. It's not the first time she's done something like that; and doing it with some other woman's guy, isn't even close to the worst things she's done."

Harmony said firmly, "Valerie Malone is a vampire."

"Right." Kelly nodded. "She should be classified among the lower beings, who everyone should do their best to avoid."

"Listen Kelly." Harmony told her, "When I called Valerie a 'vampire', it wasn't a figure of speech."

"It wasn't?"

"Spike is one himself."

"One what? A vampire?"

"That's right girl, and so am I."

Kelly now saw that the woman, who stood blocking her between both cars and the wall, had a pair of fangs protruding between her upper and lower lips.

Harmony told her, "And Valerie Malone is now my friend." She moved closer to Kelly. "She says that she wishes she could bite all of you except Donna, and the one she wants to kill most of all is you, Kelly."

That had happened either late Thursday night, or early Friday morning. Now it was Saturday morning, and Kelly Taylor was a vampire, hiding from the daylight, seated at a table in the dark and deserted nightclub.

Her cellphone rang. She put it to her ear.

"Hi Kelly." The caller said, "It's Dylan. I've just called Valerie again. She's finally cooperating. She said that a vampire can get all the pigs' blood he or she needs, in any butcher shop in the City."

"I can't get to any butcher shop at all Dylan. Not 'til after sunset. If I did go out in the sunlight, I'd burn up into ashes and soot."

"It's okay. I'm driving over to the butcher shop that's closest to my place. I'll get it to you by 10 A.M."

"Well you'd better hurry, or when you show up, I'll ignore the pigs' blood!"

Dylan's phone clicked off.

He'd better get the blood here quick, she thought, before the first employees show up. If he doesn't, I won't be able to keep myself from biting my fangs into the first employee's neck, and sucking out his or her blood, until he or she is dead. If that first employee just happens to be my stepbrother David, it won't make any difference.

Kelly remained seated at the table, waiting for Dylan, and getting hungrier.

I hope Valerie's the first employee to show up! Forget that! Even if she is what's the point? She's now a Vampire so biting her wouldn't do me any good.

Or would it? Can I get nourishment from blood that's already nourishing another vampire?

I don't know a thing about being a vampire. Is there any way to learn?

Just a few minutes after 10 AM, she heard sounds coming through the storeroom's doorway that stood to the bar's right. She heard footsteps. Then a male voice called out from the storeroom.

"Kelly?"

"I'm out on the main floor Dylan!"

"I've brought you the pigs' blood!"

She got up from the table, and headed toward his voice.

He called out again. "Can I trust you not to bite me?"

Kelly halted. "No! Not right now!"

"Then stay where you are! I'll toss it out to you! It's in a can!"

A dark object flew out through the storeroom doorway, hit the floor, bounced once and rolled along the tiles, until it bumped up against a table's legs, where it stopped moving.

Kelly pounced, diving below the table, and grabbed the wet, dark can. She brought it up to her mouth, put her fangs against the lid, and drove them in, with a much more powerful bite than she'd had before becoming undead.

She took one taste. Then she gagged.

"It's beer?" She howled, "Dylan? What the hell are you doing?"

Now Dylan stood beside her. She looked up at him, and saw that he was holding a cross.

She screamed, raising her hand to shield her eyes, while she cringed beneath the table.

Her voice whimpered. "What the hell's the matter with you? Don't you know what that does to a vampire?"

"I'm sorry Kelly. I had to distract you." He put a paper bag on the table. "I have brought you the blood. Just wait for me to back off."

He quickly backed away from the table, still holding the cross, and moved behind the bar.

"Okay." He told her. "You can come out now."

Kelly moved out from under the table, and stood up with her hand still raised to shield her eyes from the cross. She turned her back toward Dylan, opened the brown paper bag on the table, reached in and took out a large, sealed plastic container, containing a dark red liquid.

Dylan told her, "That's the blood."

Kelly took the container over to the table where she'd been sitting before he shown up. She pulled off the lid, and poured the contents into the wineglass, from which she'd drunk her non-nourishing breakfast. Then she gulped it all down fast.

She looked at Dylan, who continued holding the cross, and quickly looked away.

"Don't let go of that cross yet." she told him.

She filled the glass once more and gulped it all down again. Then she gulped down another glassful. Then she poured what remained in the container into the glass, and finished that off.

She looked at Dylan, still keeping her hand raised, to shield her eyes from the cross.

"It's okay." She told him, "I won't bite you now; but I have no idea how long it'll be before I get hungry again."

Now she seated herself at the table, feeling much calmer.

Dylan remained standing behind the bar. He laid down the cross but kept it within reach.

He asked, "So what do we do now?"

"I have no idea." She shook her head. "I still have to stay in here, until the sun goes down."

"After that what?"

"I don't know Dylan." She told him, "I don't know a thing about being a vampire! I have no idea how to handle it."

He said, "Valerie might know. Do you want me to call her? Then she can tell you what she knows."

He took out his cellphone.

"No! I never want to talk to Valerie Malone again! She's the one who had me killed!"

"I asked her about that. She's taking the Fifth."

"It figures. I'm not talking to her!"

"Okay. You don't have to. I'll call her."

Dylan picked his cross up off the bar, and went through the doorway into the storeroom.

Valerie? Kelly thought, You couldn't trust anything she had to say when she was alive; so why should I trust her now, when she's a vampire?

A sister vampire?

Sister? Yeah--right!

Dylan returned from the storeroom after about five minutes, and stood behind the bar again.

He told Kelly, "I just spoke to Valerie. She suggested that I get you a copy of the 'Vampire's Handbook'."

"There's a 'Handbook'?"

"She says it's what every new vampire should know."


	2. Chapter 2

2

A half-hour later, Kelly had moved into the brick walled Club Manager's office. Direct sunlight didn't shine through its frosted glass window. She now sat in the swivel chair behind Valerie's desk. The desk lamp was switched on. Dylan stood just inside the open door, cautiously watching her.

She ignored him, while facing the knee-high fridge in the corner to her left. The fridge had a lock on its door, and the lock was shut. Valerie had told Dylan that a six-pack of blood was behind the locked door. She'd also told him that the pack contained the "good stuff".

"It's okay Dylan." Kelly spoke with annoyance. "I'm no longer hungry. You don't have to stand as far away from me as you can get, any more."

"Right."

He remained in place.

"I don't need any key." She'd told him. "All I need is a hammer to break the lock."

"Break Valerie's lock?"

Kelly spoke sharply, "If she's got any complaints I'll buy her a new one!"

She began opening and shutting drawers in the desk.  
She asked, "Do you know if Val's got a hammer in here?"

"I'm sure she does." Dylan said uneasily, "At least somewhere here in the Club. I've never had to look for one in here before."

"Well stop hanging out in the doorway and start looking!"

He began poking around the shelves along the wall.

"Excuse me Kell." He said, "You've been in here for hours, but you didn't think of looking for a hammer until now?"

"Until now? I've just come back from being brain dead Dylan! My mind was clouded, until I drank that blood you gave me!"

"Right. I'm sorry."

She said, "And once I get into the fridge and drink the 'good stuff', my mind should be clearer than ever."

He stopped poking around the shelves, turned and looked at her.

"And what does a clear thinking vampire have on her mind?"

"What's on my mind, is figuring out what I'll have to do, to get away with drinking the good stuff, straight from its natural sources."

Sounds came through the doorway, from the out on the main floor. A guy called out.

"Dylan? Kelly?"

She turned the swivel chair and now sat facing the doorway, extending her fangs, which poked out between her upper and lower lips.

Dylan raised an open hand in her direction, making a calming gesture.

"We're in here Brandon!" He called out, "In Valerie's office!"

Brandon Walsh appeared in the doorway, with his right hand gripping the handles of a bulging plastic shopping bag at his side.

"Hi Dylan," he spoke calmly, "And hi..."

Kelly had rolled backward in the swivel chair, away from the desk, moving out of the lamp's direct light.

Brandon hesitated for a long moment. "Why Kelly, what big teeth you have." He spoke without amusement.

She told him, "All the better to you know what, Brandon!"

"It's okay." Dylan told him, "She's no longer hungry. I've given her enough pigs' blood."

Brandon lifted the plastic bag. "And I've brought more."

Kelly pointed. "Just leave it on the desk."

Brandon, her boyfriend for the present, moved cautiously forward, carrying the plastic bag that bulged with heavy plastic containers. He placed it on the desk top, then quickly backed away, and stood beside her former boyfriend, Dylan.

Kelly rolled up to the desk in the swivel chair. She spread the plastic bag open with her fingers and looked inside.

"Good." She said, "I'll take them with me, along with what's in the fridge."

Dylan said, "Take them with you? Where?"

She looked up at both of them, and spoke with hesitation.

"Do either of you have any suggestions?"

Brandon and Dylan looked at each other puzzled. Then they looked at Kelly again.

She told them, "If one of you can get your hands on a Vampire's Handbook, it might identify some safe places where vampires can go to live, or go to be undead."

"Vampire's Handbook?" Brandon added, "Where would you find one?"

Dylan said, "I spoke to Valerie on my cellphone about a half hour ago. She said she got her copy at Wolfram & Hart Headquarters."

"Wolfram and Hart?" Brandon repeated. "Isn't that some major law firm?"

"Wolfram and Hart Corp," Dylan told him, "is a vampire owned and operated corporation that provides goods and services, including legal services, to vampires and other beings who go bump in the night. Val said that its Legal Department employs vampires as enforcers."

"Enforcers?" Kelly asked, "Does that include Harmony? The one who did this to me?"

Dylan nodded, "That's what Valerie said. It's a place that's best for all of us to avoid."

"Not all of us." Kelly spoke, "Not for me. Since I'm already a vampire, I can go on down there tonight, and pick up a Handbook. Then I'll have some idea of what I'll have to be dealing with. I can pick up a few copies for both of you, and everyone else."

Brandon asked, "Everyone else?"

"Right. David, Donna, Brenda and Steve. Then you'll all know how to deal with me, and we can avoid trouble. She added, with a whimper in her voice, "I don't want to lose any of you as friends."

Dylan shook his head, "I don't know Kell. From what I've heard about Wofram & Hart, it's not all that safe for vampires either. If you do go down there tonight, there's no telling if we'll ever see you again."

"But I need that Vampire's Handbook!" There was a predator's growl in her voice.

Brandon spoke nervously. "It might be posted on the internet. Do you want to give it a look?"

He pointed to a laptop computer that lay open on the desk. Kelly pushed aside the plastic bag with the blood filled containers, picked up the computer and placed it in front of her. Then she switched on the device, logged on to google, and typed in the words "Vampire's Handbook", and then tapped "google search".

"There are 325,000 entries." she told them. "I'll have to narrow it down."

Dylan asked, "Gonna take a while huh?"

She sighed. "I don't know where to start."

"Try Wolfram & Hart's website."

She took his advice. In less than two minutes she said, "I've got it."

Brandon and Dylan came over beside her cautiously, and looked at the laptop's screen.

Kelly had logged onto the home page which displayed the title, "The Vampire's Handbook". Beneath that was the subtitle, "Being a Vampire Doesn't Have to Suck." Beneath the subtitle a smiley face with fangs was displayed. Under the smiley face a blurb appeared saying, "What every new vampire should know."

"Okay!" She said, "Let's see. 'Table of contents.'"

"Guys." She told them, "It looks like I really am gonna be here a while."

"Right." Dylan asked, "Is there anything you'd like us to do, while you're studying it?"

"Well for one thing," she spoke sharply, "You can get back to finding a hammer, and breaking that lock off the fridge!"

Right!

Dylan resumed poking around the shelves along the walls of the office, and searching through file cabinets, while Brandon left the office, to look for a hammer somewhere inside the building.

Brandon was back in less than five minutes, with a claw hammer in his hand.

It was on the shelf under the bar, just where you might expect.

Kelly remained seated at the desk, gazing at the laptop s screen. Dylan was back beside her.

He said, We ve found some very interesting things on this website.

And very useful. Kelly added. There s a very long list of places where anyone can purchase pigs blood. I won t have to bite anyone human.

Brandon said, That s good to know.

There are also some places listed, where I can go to purchase some of the good stuff , canned or bottled, anytime.

Canned or bottled? Brandon asked, Does that mean that you won t have any problem being a law abiding vampire, or will you?

Well. There will always be the problem of temptation.

Dylan backed away from her, and moved over beside Brandon, who stood just inside the open door.

She grinned at both very nervous looking guys, with her fangs extended. But if the temptation becomes too strong; there are certain websites listed here, where I can make reservations to go on hunting trips.

"Hunting?" Brandon asked, "For blood of the human variety?"

"What else?" She told him, "Here it says 'The good stuff'. I assume that's what it means."

Now Dylan spoke. "I know whose blood I'd like to go hunting for, and it isn't anyone human; or at least no longer human. I'd like to ram a sharp wooden stake into that Harmony Bitch, for doing this to you, Kelly."

She said, "Forget it Dylan!"

Brandon agreed, "You'll be biting off too much. You go after her, and then every vampire at Wolfram & Hart'll be coming after you and maybe the rest of us."

"Don't worry you two." He told them, "I'm not going off half cocked. I'm gonna be getting myself the right kind of help."

"Like who?"

"People who know how to fight vampires." Dylan said, "Kelly, will you check and see if this Handbook says anything about any people, or organizations who actually fight vampires?"

Kelly checked further.

"I've got it." She said, "Right here in L.A. There's a detective agency named "Angel Investigations."

Dylan asked, "Can you give me their number? I'll give them a call."

Brandon said, "Wait Dylan. Before we call in any vampire hunters, let's make sure we've got Kelly in a safe place first. We don't want them going after her too."

"Right. Okay Kell, check again. See if there's any place, within reasonable distance, where a vampire might be reasonably safe."

She did as he asked. Then she said, "The nearest place recommended is Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Brandon said, "Right. It is known as 'Vampire Town'."

"Except, " she spoke further, "Sunnydale is also the home of Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer herself."


	3. Chapter 3

3

"They can't be serious!" Dylan said, "The safest place for a vampire to hide, is the town where the Vampire Slayer lives?"

Kelly sighed and stared blankly at the computer screen. She, Brandon and Dylan were all uncomfortably quiet for a few moments. They heard the morning traffic passing on the street outside.

Brandon finally spoke, "That could mean that for any vampire, no place is any safer than Sunnydale."

She sighed again, this time with a whimper in her voice.

The cell phone on Dylan's belt rang. He grabbed it, and put the device to his ear.

"Hi." He said, "Valerie?"

"No." A man spoke. "I'm not Valerie Malone. I'm calling a Mr. Dylan McKay."

"That's me. I'm Dylan McKay. Who are you?"

"My name is Lindsay McDonald, Mr. McKay. I am an attorney. I work for the firm of Wolfram & Hart."

"Wolfram & Hart?"

Brandon and Kelly both looked startled, while Dylan continued listening to the man on the phone.

"Yes." The man said, "I have been retained to represent the legal interests of Miss Valerie Malone."

"Oh I see." Dylan spoke to Brandon and Kelly. "Valerie's got herself a lawyer."

"Good idea." Brandon said

Kelly nodded. "She's gonna need one."

"Listen Mr. McDonald." Dylan told him, "I have good news for your client. I have an eyewitness who can give testimony, that Valerie Malone was not the vampire who killed Kelly Taylor. Miss Taylor has returned as a vampire herself, and has identified her real killer as another vampire named Harmony."

"That's good to hear, but do you know that for an actual fact, or is that just hearsay?"

"What I did hear, was Miss Taylor say that herself."

"Would you know how I can contact her, so we can arrange for a meeting, where she can give me a sworn deposition?"

"Could you please hold on a moment?"

Dylan spoke to Kelly. "Valerie's lawyer wants to meet with you, so you can make a sworn deposition, identifying the vampire who actually killed you."

Brandon spoke, "Do either of you realize just how strange that statement sounds?"

Kelly told him, "Nobody realizes that more than I do, Brandon.

"Dylan." She told him, "Tell Valerie's lawyer, that Harmony gave me the impression, that his bimbo client put her up to it."

Dylan resumed speaking on the phone. "If Kelly gives you her deposition, it would be definitely detrimental to your client. I've spoken to Valerie Malone myself, and she's exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination."

"Yes, I know, but that's not the only reason I called. I'm also representing her business interests. I understand, Mr. McKay, is that you and she are both part owners of the nightclub, the Peachpit After/Dark."

"Oh, I see. You not only want to take a deposition, you want a business meeting too?"

"Yes. As soon as possible. Sometime today perhaps. My calendar is clear this afternoon, from 2:30 to 3 PM. Can you be in my office then?"

"Not this afternoon." Dylan told him, "You seem to be forgetting that Miss Kelly Taylor is now a vampire, and she can't go outside in the daylight. It could be detrimental to her existence."

"Right. So how about us meeting in my office this evening?"

"This evening? You want the two of us to come to Wolfram and Hart's headquarters tonight, when all their vampire employees, including Harmony, will be on the job? Forget it Mr. McDonald. It could not only be detrimental to her existence, but mine also. If you want a meeting, it will have to be in a place and time when it will be safe for everybody."

"Very well Mr. McKay. Can you suggest a place and time?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that Mr. McDonald."

Then Dylan clicked off his cell phone.

Dylan said, "A lawyer from Wolfram and Hart is not only Valerie's lawyer. He also works with Harmony. It's obvious to me, that he doesn't really want any deposition. He want's to know where you are, so Harmony and her friends can eliminate you as a witness, Kelly."

She said, "And this is the first place they'll come looking! As soon as it gets dark."

Brandon said, "Then we've got to get you out of L.A. before dark, but you can't go any place outside until after sunset, which is around 6:30."

She spoke bitterly. "Maybe you should lock me in the walk in refrigerator. It can't harm me now."

Now another male voice called out from the main floor. "Who's here? Who's in the office?"

Brandon said, "David?"

"He is the D.J." Dylan said. "He does have a key."

Kelly said, "He's my brother. We have to let him know about me."

"Right."

"I'm Dylan, David! We're all in here."

David Silver stepped through the doorway, but he wasn't alone. A woman was with him; she was in her mid-twenties, wore a stylish, light green business outfit and had expensively coiffeured hair. Brandon recognized her. He'd seen her in the club before, but they'd never spoken.

David said, "Hi Dylan, Brandon. Hi..."

He was startled to see who was seated behind the desk.

"Kelly?"

His step-sister said, "You're not alone?"

He said, "You're not dead!"

The woman declared, "Yes she is, Mr. Silver. To be more specific, she's undead."

Now Dylan asked, "And just who are you?"

"Guys. Everyone." David replied, "This is Cordelia Chase. She is an employee of Angel Investigations. Miss Chase, this is Dylan McKay, part owner of this establishment. This is Brandon Walsh, boyfriend of..." he pointed uneasily "my 'late' sister Miss Kelly Taylor."

Miss Chase reached in her handbag and took out a cross, that she held up for everyone to see. Kelly turned her head away and raised her hands, to shield her eyes, as her fangs became extended.

"Put that away!" She shouted. "I'm not gonna hurt anyone! I've already eaten!"

Now the woman asked, "Anyone you know?"

Dylan called out, "No lady! She's only had pigs' blood!"

Miss Chase asked, "Are you sure of that?"

"Positive!"

Now Brandon spoke. "Will you put that away lady? Things are hard enough for all of us, as it is."

"Not 'til she retracts her fangs."

Kelly did as the woman asked.

"Okay." The woman put the cross back in her handbag. "But if she gets up out of that chair, I'm taking it out again."

"No problem." Now Kelly said, "Angel Investigations? I've been checking things out, on the Vampires' Handbook website. It says that Angel Investigations is a detective agency that hunts vampires."

David spoke. "I didn't hire them to hunt you Kelly. If I knew you were 'back', believe me, I wouldn't have brought her in here."

"I know that David. It's okay."

"I've hired them to hunt down that vampire bitch Harmony, who did this to you."

"Good." Kelly spoke to the woman, "While you're at it, how'd you like to add the vampire bimbo Valerie Malone to the list? She's the one who put her up to it."

Cordelia spoke to Dylan, "Isn't this Valerie Malone the one who you posted that $100,000 reward for?"

"The reward for Valerie's been canceled." He said, "Kelly was misinformed about her involvement. I'm reposting the reward for Harmony instead."

"Thank you Mr. McKay. I'm sure that Angel himself will be very appreciative."

Brandon asked, "Angel?"

The woman nodded, "That's right. He's my boss. Angel, 'The vampire with a soul'."

Kelly asked, "With a soul? A vampire?"

"That's right. One hundred years ago, a group of gypsies cursed him, by using the Orb of Thessella to restore his soul. That filled him with remorse for all the evil he'd done, for the previous hundred years. Since then he's been trying to redeem himself, by destroying other vampires."

"Wait a minute!" Dylan said, "A vampire's soul can be restored, by using this 'Orb of Thessella'? Do you think Kelly's soul can be restored the same way?"

"I can't think of any reason why not. Of course you have to have someone with magical powers, speak an incantation over it, in Latin."

"Dylan?" Kelly asked, "You want to restore my soul?"

"Right. Before you get around to doing anything evil. You won't have anything to be remorseful about."

The he asked Cordelia, "Would you happen to know where this 'Orb of Thessella' is, and if there is anyone with magical powers, who can speak the incantation in Latin?"

"Yes." She told him, "As a matter of fact I do. They can both be found in Sunnydale."


	4. Chapter 4

4

By 1:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, the two of them had been on the road for two and a half hours. They'd spent the last 30 minutes driving in an open convertible, past patches of wild cactus, along a two-lane asphalt road, through the arid southern California countryside. Now their trip was almost over. They were approaching Sunnydale.

"I can't believe we're doing this." said Brandon, who sat in the front passenger seat. "We're actually driving along, with a dead woman in the trunk of our car."

"Correction." said Dylan, who was behind the wheel said. "That's an undead woman."

Brandon sighed. "The things we do for love."

They drove past the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign, rounded a curve and the town came into sight. From a distance, in the daytime, it looked like any typical southern California community.

They drove on further, and came to the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, pulled off the road here, and drove up to the office, where they checked in. Then they drove over to room 103, and parked outside.

Behind the window to room 104, the blinds were shut. One slat in the blinds opened a crack. The room's occupant looked through the crack, to see Brandon and Dylan getting out of their car.

The occupant thought, They've found me?

The new arrivals reached into the back seat, and each took out an overnight bag. They shut and locked the car, then carried their bags into room 103.

They haven't come to my door? Room 104's occupant wondered. They're staying in the next room? Do they know I'm here?

The two guys went back out into the parking lot, stood behind Dylan's car and looked around.

"Okay." Brandon said, "No cars coming in either direction."

Dylan knocked on the trunk three times. "Kelly!" He called out, "Are you ready?"

A woman's muffled voice came from inside the trunk. "Okay! You can open it now!"

Dylan unlocked the trunk, and opened it wide. Inside the trunk, Kelly was lying, completely covered from head to foot in a blue blanket; like an Arab woman in traditional robes. Her face was also covered with a towel. A plastic red and white cooler was beside her.

Brandon asked, "Are you breathing okay?"

"I'm a vampire Brandon." She spoke through the towel. "I'm not breathing at all."

"You're not? Then how are you able to speak?"

"I have no idea. Do you guys want to help me get out of here?"

Dylan and Brandon reached in, took her by the arms, which she kept folded inside the blanket, and helped lift her up and out of the trunk. Then she stood on the parking lot's asphalt pavement. Brandon reached inside the trunk, picked up an umbrella that he opened, and held it between Kelly and the sun.

She asked, "An umbrella to keep the fire off me?"

"Let's get inside quick."

The three hurried inside Motel Room 103. Then Brandon went back out to the car, reached in the trunk again, and lifted out the red and white plastic cooler with both hands. He shut the trunk and carried the cooler into the Motel Room. Dylan shut the door behind him. Dylan had also shut the blinds, and turned on a lamp.

Kelly had removed the blanket and towel. She now stood before the mirror on the wall above the dresser, still wearing the modest blue dress.

"I look awful!" She said, "My hair's a mess. I don't have a comb or any make-up either."

Dylan said, "That's okay. We'll get you whatever you need, when we're in town."

Rooms 103 and 104 were adjoining. The occupant of 104 knelt beside the adjoining doors, listening to their voices.

Now Brandon spoke. "Wait a minute? You can see yourself in that mirror? I can't see your reflection."

"Neither can I." said Dylan.

"But I can see myself." Kelly told them, "I've heard that about vampires."

Then she asked, "So now what?"

Dylan said, "Now it's time for me and Brandon to drive on into town, and start looking for that 'Orb of Thessella'."

Brandon asked, "You won't have any problem with us leaving you alone like this, will you Kelly?"

"It's okay. No problem. The room's got cable TV, and there's that cooler full of pigs' blood," she smiled, "and the good stuff too. There's no reason for me to go outside. Both of you can take all the time you need."

Brandon and Dylan then went out the door, shutting it behind themselves. Kelly heard the car's engine start, and the vehicle driving off.

Now she was alone in the room. The time was a little after 2 in the afternoon. She sat on the edge of the double bed nearest the door, and wondered, Now what?

The guys had gone looking for this "Orb of Thessela". According to Cordelia Chase, the Orb could be purchased in Sunnydale, in a shop called the Magic Box. She'd also identified the person who had magical powers, and the ability to speak incantations in Latin.

Kelly thought, They're gonna be gone for the rest of the day. What do I do until they return?

She looked at the plastic cooler on the floor, under the window.

I'm not hungry now. I have no idea when I'll be hungry again. I think I saw something about that on the website, but I didn't get around to reading it. I'll see what's on TV.

The TV's remote control tuner lay on the night table between the headboards of both beds. She got up to reach for the device, then she halted.

She heard a sound of a door opening, coming through what Kelly had thought was a closet door, in the wall across from the foot of both beds.

That's not a closet, she thought. It's the door to an adjoining room! Somebody's coming in here!

She felt her fangs instinctively extend.

No trouble please! She thought, I don't want any trouble!

Then the door to the adjoining room swung open, and a woman around Kelly's age stepped into Room 103. The woman had dark hair, and wore the same low cut, thigh high, tight, shimmering green dress, that she'd had on the night before, in the Peachpit After/Dark.

She and Kelly looked at each other uneasily for a long, uncomfortable moment.

Then the woman said, "Hi Kelly."

"Good afternoon Valerie." Kelly asked, "How you been?"

"Dead." Valerie told her, "Then undead. You?"

Kelly felt her fangs retract. "Same here."

"Before I became undead," Valerie told her, "I was in Hell. No surprise huh? How about you?"

"I have no memory from when I was dead, but I do remember what happened just before that. I remember being attacked by a woman vampire named Harmony."

"Hey! Whatever she told you, I didn't ask Harmony to kill you!"

"She said you told her that I was the one who you wanted to kill the most."

"She misunderstood me." Valerie said, "I didn't say that I wanted her to kill you. I meant that I wanted to do it myself."

Kelly said, "Then you're too late."

Valerie shrugged. "And it wouldn't have done any good anyway. We're now both vampire women. I've got fangs and so do you, but that still hasn't stopped you from being the one who gets the guys. Two of them! Together! In the same motel room!"

There was an uncomfortable silence between them for a few moments.

Then Kelly asked, "So this is where you've been hiding out? The Sunnydale Motor Lodge of all places."

"Safe place for an innocent vampire to hide, 'til things cool down; and I can stop worrying about people wanting to ram a sharp wooden stake through my heart; or at least I thought it was safe."

"Innocent?" Kelly chuckled. "You?"

"Yeah-me! 'Innocent' defined as not guilty of any involvement in your killing.

"When I saw Dylan and Brandon drive up, I was sure they'd found me; and they were gonna be coming in here after me, with sharp wooden stakes. But they didn't come to my room. They came in here with you instead. You had no idea I was here, did you?"

"Not until now Valerie. Why'd you come in here anyway? If you'd just stayed in your room, we wouldn't have known."

"That's what I was planning; but while I was eavesdropping, I heard one of you mention the Orb of Thessella. That's what the guys have gone looking for. They want to use it to restore your soul. I'd like to be included in the same restoration."

Kelly sounded puzzled. "Now since when would somebody like you, want her soul restored? I think you'd be a lot more comfortable without one."

"Not as comfortable as you think. Believe it or not Kelly, I want another chance."

"Another chance to do what?"

"To keep from going to Hell, Kelly." Valerie went on. "Hell is real, and it's exactly like what those Fundamentalist Preachers say, and what you see in those medieval paintings. Fire and brimstone and demons with horns sticking burning pitchforks into you. It's all real."

"Oh." Kelly shuddered, "Demons really do stick pitchforks in you?"

"Yeah. I had my own personal demon named Egbert. He had a fiery pitchfork stabbed inside my naked body, and he was never gonna take it out."

Kelly laughed, "'Egbert'?"

"Yeah. He was giving me multiple orgasms of extreme agony. If I hadn't become undead, that would have gone on forever, and when I say 'forever', that isn't a figure of speech."

"Multiple orgasms?"

"Right. I'm totally in love with that horny fella. Forever."

"In love?"

"Or in lust, of the kinkiest, most thoroughly degrading, masochistic kind. Nobody does it better than Eggy;" she shook her head. "but that's not enough for me to ever want to go back."


	5. Chapter 5

5

Dylan and Brandon had reached the edge of Sunnydale, driving past the parking lot of the local Doublemeat Palace franchise. Dylan was still behind the wheel of the convertible. The cell phone on his belt sounded. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

He sounded puzzled. "It's from Kelly?

"I'll talk to her," said Brandon, "while you keep your eyes on the road."

"Right."

Dylan handed him the cell phone.

Brandon pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi Kelly. It's Brandon."

"Good. With what I've got to say, I'm glad you're not the one who's driving."

"What is it Kell?

"Well, you see...Valerie's here, with me, in the Motel room."

He asked Dylan, "Do you want to pull over and stop for a moment?"

Dylan did as he asked.

When the car had stopped, Brandon told him, "Valerie's in the Motel room with Kelly."

"Valerie?"

"Yeah. She just happened to be staying in the room next to ours. They're adjoining rooms, and she came through the adjoining doors."

Dylan asked, "Does Kelly want us to come back?"

Brandon repeated the question to her.

"No. I'm safe with her now. She can't hurt me and I can't hurt her. She wants our help."

Brandon told Dylan, "Valerie wants our help."

Dylan sighed with exasperation. He reached over, and Brandon handed him the phone.

Then Dylan spoke into the device. "Put her on, Kelly."

He heard Valerie's voice. "Hi Dylan."

"What he hell do you mean you want our help? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go looking for help, from this 'Vampire Slayer', and send her after you?"

"If you send her after me, she'll be coming after Kelly too."

"Right. Okay, tell me. What do you want anyway?"

Dylan listened, then he looked over at Brandon.

"Valerie wants us to help keep her out of Hell."

Brandon beckoned and Dylan handed him the phone.

"Valerie listen carefully." Brandon told her, "If you want to stay out of Hell, then repent you sinner."

She told him, "That's what I've been telling myself, since I became undead."

"Then I suggest you take your own advice."

He handed the cell phone back to Dylan, who clicked it off.

Back in the motel room, Valerie handed the cell phone back to Kelly. Then she pointed at the plastic cooler.

"Have you got blood in there?"

Kelly nodded, "Pigs' blood in plastic containers, and cans that are said to contain the 'good stuff'."

"Are they the cans that were in the fridge in my office?"

"Yes. Unfortunately we had to break the lock off with a hammer to get to them. We'll pay you for a new one."

"That's okay. Just one thing, Kelly." Valerie told her, "The cans are mine. I'd like to have them back."

"Go ahead Val." Kelly told her, "I've got enough for myself."

Valerie went over to the cooler, lifted the lid, and saw a half dozen plastic containers filled with red liquid, and one six pack of 12 ounce cans, all lying in a pile of ice cubes, taken from the ice machine in the After/Dark. She reached in and removed the six pack.

Then she said, "There's a microwave oven in my room. After I've warmed up the contents, how'd you like to share some of the good stuff with me?"

"Valerie." Kelly told her, "Just go back into your room and stay there."

"If I stay in my room Kelly, I won't be able to show you my copy of the Vampire's Handbook."

"You have a copy?"

"That's right. It contains everything that all new vampires, like the two of us should know. It's been very helpful to me, and it might be even more of a help to you."

"Even more? In what way?"

"Well for one thing, you'll learn that the subtitle is right. Being a vampire doesn't have to suck. You want to be ready for both Brandon and Dylan, when they return, don't you?"

"Right." Kelly smiled. "Valerie, will you please let me take a look at your copy of the Vampire's Handbook?"

"Right away." Valerie said, "Kelly, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"So do I. There's just one thing that I'm wondering about."

"And what's that?"

"Does Egbert has a friend, so you and I can make your next encounter with him a double date."

Out on the road, Dylan and Brandon had resumed driving into Sunnydale.

Brandon asked, "So do you really want to go looking for this Vampire Slayer?"

"Not 'til after we've found the Orb of Thessella and restored Kelly's soul, and then taken Kelly as far from this Sunnydale as we can get. As for Valerie, she's on her own."

"Good enough."

They drove on further, and were soon moving along Main Street, passing the Sun Cinema, and a nightclub called the Bronze. They went a short distance further, along the next block, where they spotted a small shop with a sign above the door identifying the establishment as the "Magic Box." They parked, got out of the car and entered the shop. A bell above the door jingled.

They'd entered a softly lit establishment consisting of shelves displaying all types of magical paraphernalia, along with ghoulish looking items, such as replicas of skulls, dismembered eyeballs, and other parts of human and non-human anatomies. There were big hairy spider replicas, occultic items, and things that neither Brandon nor Dylan were able to identify. There were also many books about magic, the occult and "Books of Forbidden Knowledge" for anybody to purchase.

Dylan spoke with disdain. "These are just toys Brandon. It's all fake. We're not gonna find what we're looking for in here."

A woman's spoke, "I wouldn't be that quick to dismiss every item we have in stock sir!"

The woman who spoke, stood behind the counter, beside the cash register. She had a trim figure and long brown hair, was in her early twenties, and wore a modest blue business outfit. She stepped around the counter and walked up to the two young guys from Beverly Hills. A nametag clipped on her vest identified her as "Anya".

Anya spoke firmly. "You gentlemen would be surprised to see, just how genuine and just how powerful, many of the items that we have in stock are."

Brandon told her, "We aren't looking for many items. Just one."

Dylan asked, "You wouldn't just happen to have a 'genuine' and 'powerful' Orb of Thessella in stock, would you?"

Anya's expression changed. She cast an uneasy glance toward the rear of the sales floor, where a large round table stood. Two women around her age were seated at the table, going through some old books. When Dylan spoke the words "Orb of Thessella" they both looked up and turned their attention toward him and Brandon.

Anya sighed. "That may be just too powerful for either of you to deal with. Its misuse has been known to lead to more irreversible harm than anyone could possibly imagine. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to either of you gentlemen."

"We don't want to misuse it," Brandon said, "'Anya'. We wish above all else, that we didn't have any need to use it at all, but a woman who we both care for very deeply, is in need of its use."

The two women who'd been seated at the table had gotten up and come over to them. One was blonde and the other had red hair.

"So." The blonde woman spoke with a smirking tone in her voice. "A woman who you both care for very deeply has been vamped, and you want to restore her soul, huh?"

Dylan spoke with annoyance. "You think that's funny?"

"No. I'm just cynical. It comes with the job."

"Oh? And just what job is that Miss...Miss?"

She smiled, "That's Miss Buffy Summers, also known around these parts as 'The Vampire Slayer'."

Both guys from Beverly Hills looked at each other.

Brandon said, "Forget it Dylan! We're out of here! Now!"

He began to move toward the door. Buffy moved quickly, blocking his way.

"Get out of our way!" Dylan demanded, "We're not telling you who she is or where she is; and you'd better not try to follow us."

"A vampire with a soul," Buffy told them "isn't any less dangerous, than a vampire without one."

Brandon said, "She's only been drinking pigs' blood. So far she hasn't harmed anyone."

"That's so far, but eventually the temptation's going to become too great."

Now the red head spoke. "Maybe not Buffy. If her soul's restored, it might make her stronger. Let's give her a chance."

"A chance? To bite one of these guys, who care about her so much?"

"Not just them Buff. How about giving me a chance too?" She sounded miffed, "You don't have to be the whole show all the time, you know."

Buffy looked embarrassed at her words.

"Sorry Willow." The Slayer told her, "If you want to give it a shot, go ahead."

Brandon asked to other woman, "You're giving it a shot?"

"That's right." The red head smiled, "Hi. I'm Willow Rosenberg. Resident Witch."

Dylan repeated skeptically, "Witch?"

"That's right. If you want to restore the soul of the woman who you both love, you're gonna be needing someone with magical powers to speak the incantation. Without it," she shook her head; "The Orb of Thessella is just a globe of solid glass. But with me, in spite of what my best friend in all the world, Buffy here said, you'll both be a lot safer with the woman who you both love."


	6. Chapter 6

6

Inside Motel room 103 at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, the blinds remained shut, keeping out the late afternoon sunlight. Kelly and Valerie sat on the foot of the bed nearest the door, looking through the pages of Valerie's copy of the Vampires Handbook.

Kelly said, "These 'Hunting Trips' do look very intriguing." She read, "Dining in Mexico. All the hombres you can eat, all the time. We can really pig out."

Valerie pointed to a full colored glossy photo, that accompanied the list.

"That hombre's the kind of game we'd be hunting. Wouldn't you just love to try out your brand new fangs in a neck like his? I know I sure would."

"No." Kelly told her, "To be perfectly honest, I think I'd like to try them out on Brandon, or Dylan."

"Same here."

"Or Steve, or even my stepbrother David."

"All very tempting."

"But that's not gonna happen. I'm gonna use self control. Just 'cause I'm now a vampire, it doesn't mean that I can't still be a responsible, law abiding citizen."

"Same here." Valerie said, "I'm gonna be a good girl from now on. My fiery romantic interlude with Egbert was enough for me."

From beyond the window they heard a car drive up and stop just outside the door. Kelly got up, went over to the blinds and opened one of the slats a crack.

"They're back!" She said, "They're not alone. There's a woman with them."

Valerie asked, "The Slayer?"

"Who knows?"

Valerie's fangs extended. "I'll be in my room. Knock three times when it's safe."

She hurried away from Kelly, dashed through the open adjoining doors, shutting them both behind her. Kelly was now alone in Room 103.

The door to the outside opened, letting bright glaring daylight into the room, as Dylan, Brandon and a red haired woman around Kelly's age entered. Kelly put her open hands over her eyes, cringing away from the light. Her fangs extended instinctively.

"Shut the door! Please! Shut the door!"

Dylan did as she asked, and the room returned to its safe dimness. Kelly calmed down.

"It's okay Kelly." Dylan said, "Things are gonna start to get better right now."

The red haired woman looked at Kelly's fangs uneasily. She smiled. "Hi Kelly. I'm Willow Rosenberg. I'm a witch, and a very powerful one."

Kelly looked uneasily at Brandon and Dylan. "A very powerful Witch?"

"But I use my power for good." Then Willow added, "Usually."

"Just 'usually'?"

"Well, there have been some very bad moments, when I've really lost it; and gone over to the dark side; but once I've worked through my rages, I've always come back to being good again."

"That's good to know." Kelly remained uneasy. "You're not in any kind of a rage now, are you?"

"Nope. Just trying to be helpful. I'll be doing what I can to restore your soul."

Brandon repeated the word, "Rages?"

Dylan was carrying a small, brown paper bag. He reached in and pulled out a clear, crystal sphere, about the size of a softball.

"Here" he said, "is the Orb of Thessella."

Kelly stepped up to him, to take a close look at the orb.

He told her, "If you're gonna stand this close to me, please retract those fangs."

She did as he asked.

Then she asked, "This can restore a vampire's soul?"

Brandon said, "We've been told that it can, when someone with magical powers speaks the correct incantations over it in Latin. Miss Rosenberg here does have those powers, and she knows all the right incantations."

Willow told them, It doesn t actually have to be in Latin. The spells work just as well in English, as they do in any dead language, or living language either.

Now the door to the adjoining room opened. Valerie stepped through the doorway, back into Room 103. Her fangs remained extended.

"Hi guys." She spoke to Willow. "Have you got the ability to make this a two for one operation?"

The woman spoke nervously, "Two vampires?"

"It's okay." Kelly told them, "We've both been drinking pigs blood. I'm no longer hungry. How about you Val?"

"That all depends on her."

Willow's voice trembled. "A two-fer's no problem. The thing is, the operation can only be performed, one restoration at a time."

"Go ahead." Valerie told her, "We've got plenty of time, and neither of us is going anyplace, til it gets dark."

"Good enough." Willow told them, "I think it's best for me to start with the vampire who's the greatest danger to others. Would any of you have any idea, which one of these gals that would be?"

Brandon, Dylan and Kelly all pointed at Valerie.

"She is!"

Valerie rolled her eyes and sighed.

She said, "Then good for me. I get to go first."

"Okay." Willow said, "This shouldn't take too long."

She reached out and Dylan placed the Orb of Thessella in her hand. Then Willow stepped up to Valerie, holding the orb just below her own lips, with Dylan beside her. He reached in his pocket and took out a cross.

Brandon had also stepped up to Kelly, and taken a cross out of his own pocket.

She and Valerie both cried out, and shielded their eyes while cringing.

"Sorry girls." Brandon told them, "While she's performing the restorations, Miss Rosenberg'll be standing within biting distance of a vampire, so we have to play it safe."

Willow repeated to the trembling Valerie, "It shouldn't take all that long."

"Okay!" Valerie snapped, "Get on with it!"

Then Willow began the incantation.

"Hear me oh spirit of this undead,  
Body from whom her soul has fled.  
This Orb's power does now restore,  
Her soul into her corpse's core..."

Valerie gasped. "Uuuuh!" Then she spoke softly. "Good bye Egbert."

Willow gazed into the Orb, looking startled.

She asked Valerie, "You've been one of Egbert's impalements?"

Valerie asked her, "You know about Egbert?"

Willow nodded, "I met him once, during one of my darkest rages." She had a dreamy look on her face. "He gave me a really great tickle with the prongs of that pitchfork of his. Didn't want him to stop. Ever."

"Yeah." Valerie chuckled. "I know what you mean."

Now Dylan asked, "Just who is this 'Egbert'?"

"Oh! Sorry." Willow shook herself. "Back to the restoration. Let's see. Where was I?"

"It's okay." Valerie told her, "I've stopped cringing."

Kelly spoke. "So have I."

Valerie stared straight at the cross in Dylan's hand, without any fear. Kelly did the same with the cross that Brandon was holding. Both vampire women reached out, and touched those crosses without being harmed.

Kelly said, "I think this means that both our souls have been restored."

"That's right." Willow told them. "I told you it shouldn't take all that long. My work here is done."

Valerie said, "And now I'm suddenly hungry."

Kelly added, "So am I."

Willow said, "Oops!"

The read haired woman moved back a few steps from Valerie, reached in her handbag, and pulled out a foot long, sharp wooden stake. She raised it to her shoulder height, and stood trembling, looking back and forth between both Kelly and Valerie.

"Hey!" Brandon said, "What are you doing? You've just gave them their souls back!"

"Sorry." Willow told them, "You see, now that their souls are restored, they're a pair of hungry vampire girls, who can no longer be held off by those crosses you're holding. I should have explained that before, but it completely slipped my mind."

Kelly spoke sharply, "Calm down lady! We've got all the blood we need right here!"

She pointed toward the cooler on the floor.

Valerie added, "And it's all the legal stuff."

Dylan asked, "That should be enough, shouldn't it?"

"Hopefully." Willow shook her head, "No guarantee about that.

Brandon asked, "Do you want either Dylan or I to give you a ride back into town?"

"No. It'll be better for everyone here, if both of you drive me back, and don't return."

Dylan asked, "Don't return? Forget it! They ve got all the blood they need right here."

Willow said, "I still wouldn't trust either of them."

Brandon said, "But you don't know Kelly. With her soul restored, she'll be the woman she was before; and the way she was before, was never violent."

Willow looked at Valerie. "What about her? Before now, could you trust her?

Dylan and Brandon both looked uncomfortable.

Valerie sighed and rolled her eyes again. "It's okay. As long as I've got enough pigs blood to drink, everyone'll be safe with me. Listen. Dylan and I are part owners of a nightclub in Beverly Hills. I'm not gonna do anything that'll lead to me losing my share in it. Is that good enough?"

Both guys shrugged and nodded.

Dylan said, "Sounds reasonable to me."

Brandon said, "Right."

Kelly nodded her head.

"Okay." Willow told them, "If you guys want to spend your time with a pair of sexy vampire gals, I understand it; but remember, you've been warned."

Miss Rosenberg went to the door and opened it, letting in the glaring light of late afternoon, causing both Kelly and Valerie to cringe out of its way. Then Kelly growled. Willow hurried out the door and slammed it shut behind herself.

Kelly then moved over and stood with her back against the door, blocking the way out. Her fangs were now extended. Valerie also moved and shut the adjoining door, while she extended her own fangs.

"So tell us, guys." Kelly asked, "Just what do you two want to do with us sexy vampire gals, who are suddenly both very hungry, and against who you no longer have any defense?"

"That s right." Valerie also grinned. "Tell me Mr. McKay. How'd you like to party, with a gal who s got a nice big pair of fangs on her, for you and she to play with?"

A grinning Kelly asked, "How about you Brandon? Want to see what kind of fun we can have?"

He and Dylan glanced nervously at each other.

Brandon asked uneasily, "You girls are both kidding, aren't you?"

Valerie asked, "What do you say Kelly? Are we kidding?"


	7. Chapter 7

A


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